E 

540 



REPORT 



OF THE 



COMMITTEE OF THE 




MEETING FOE SUFFERINGS, 

TO ADVISE AND ASSIST SUCH FRIENDS AS MIGHT BE 
DRAFTED FOR MILITARY SERVICE. 



ALSO THE 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 

FOE THE GRADUAL 

IMPROVEMENT AND CIVILIZATION 

OF THE INDIAN NATIVES. 



1865. 



PHILADELPHIA : 

PRINTED BY THOMAS SINEX, 
610 tTat/ne Street. 




Glass E 5*\fr 

Book JiB 



REPORT 

OF THE 

COMMITTEE OF THE 

MEETING FOR SUFFERINGS, 

TO ADVISE AND ASSIST SUCH FRIENDS AS MIGHT 
BE DRAFTED FOR MILITARY SERVICE. 



ALSO THE 

O 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 



FOR THE GRADUAL 

IMPROVEMENT AND CIVILIZATION 

OF THE 

INDIAN NATIVES. 

1865. 



•• i • >\ \ I v ^ 



PHILADELPHIA : 

PRINTED BY THOMAS SINEX, 

619 Jay ne Street. 



• </<■ 



REPORT 



OF THE COMMITTEE TO ASSIST FRIENDS WHO ARE 
DRAFTED. 



To The Meeting for Sufferings. 

The Committee to advise and assist such of our mem- 
bers as might be drafted for service in the Army of the 
United States, report : 

That numerous applications have been made to them, 
all of which have been attended to ; and such counsel 
and aid given to the parties as their respective cases 
appeared to require. 

Three Friends were taken from their homes, in the in- 
terior of Pennsylvania, and sent to Camp Curtin, at 
Harrisburg ; from whence they wrote to the Committee 
informing of their trying situation. Application was 
promptly made to the proper officers in Philadelphia, 
and a letter procured from one of them to the military 
commander at the camp, commending the cases to his 
favorable attention. Two of the Committee went with 
this to Harrisburg, and had an interview with the officer 
in charge, who treated them kindly, and granted permis- 
sion to the three young men to return to their homes 
until called for ; since which they have not been dis- 
turbed. 

In two other cases, military passes have been granted 
to drafted Friends, releasing them from the rendezvous, 
and permitting their return home ; and these have been 
renewed on the application of the Committee ; evincing a 
friendly feeling toward those who are conscientiously 
engaged, under a sense of religious duty, to uphold 
the Christian testimony to peace. 

One young man, when before the Provost Marshal, in 



his anxiety to escape being sent to the field, inadvertently 
expressed bis willingness to serve in the Army Hospitals. 
He was soon sent to camp, where he was expected to 
drill, and to do other acts which were trying to his 
feelings ; and the more so because he felt that he had 
compromised the testimony of Truth by choosing Hospi- 
tal duty ; and thus had deprived himself of the inward 
strength and support which are the accompaniments of 
faithfulness. 

When assigned to a hospital, he found the associations 
and examples extremely repugnant to his moral and re- 
ligious feelings, and in several letters deplored the mistake 
he had made, and the sad situation into which he had 
introduced himself. Being taken sick, his feelings were 
more fully awakened ; and, in another letter, he entreated 
friends to intercede for his release, that he might not end 
his days amid scenes of such wickedness. He was favored 
to recover, was discharged, and restored to his father's 
family, deeply impressed with his error, and more than ever 
attached to the principles of Friends. His experience, 
we think, furnishes evidence of the great importance of 
steadily and unflinchingly adhering to religious principle, 
without compromise. 

The ltth Section of the " Amendatory Enrolment 
Act, approved the 24th of the 2d month, 1864," provides, 
" That members of religious denominations who shall, 
by oath or affirmation, declare that they are conscientious- 
ly opposed to bearing arms, and who are prohibited from 
doing so by the rules and articles of faith and practice 
of said religious denominations, shall, when drafted into 
the military service, be considered non-combatants; and 
shall be assigned by the Secretary of War to duty in the 
hospitals, or to the care of Freedmen, or shall pay the 
sum of $300, to such person as the Secretary of War 
shall designate to receive it ; to be applied to the benefit 
of the sick and wounded soldiers : Provided, That no 
person shall be entitled to the benefit of this section 
unless his declaration of conscientious scruple against 
bearing arms, shall be supported by satisfactory evidence 
that his deportment has been uniformly consistent with 
such declaration." 

This, we believe is the first recognition, in the statutes 



of the United States, of a religious scruple against war ; 
and, coming in the midst of so mighty and desperate 
a struggle as that then pending, it may well be considered 
as a most important movement in favor of the Christian 
principle of " Peace on earth and good will toward 
men." 

There can be no doubt that it had its origin in feelings 
of kind consideration for the members of our Religious 
Society, and of any other which may hold the same views 
of the peaceable nature of the gospel ; and it demands our 
grateful acknowledgment to the Government. It should 
also be an incentive to Friends, to maintain with integrity 
their religious testimony ; for if those who preceded us 
had balked or betrayed it, there is no probability that 
this advance would have been obtained. 

That it is a relief to be placed on the list of non-com- 
batants is obvious, inasmuch as it releases from liability 
to be sent into the battle-field j but thelaw does not afford 
a mode of escape from military duty which our discipline 
acknowledges as consistent with the religious principles 
of Friends. 

Believing that liberty of conscience is the gift of the 
Creator to man, Friends have ever refused to purchase the 
free exercise of it, by the payment of any pecuniary or 
other commutation, to any human authority. 

From no other class of citizens, is the payment of 
$300, the service in hospitals, or among the Freedmen, 
required ; and it is obviously in consequence of their 
conscientious scruple against war that these are demanded 
of Friends ; and the payment of the money, or the per- 
formance of the service, would be an acknowledgment 
that human authority may abridge and control the Chris- 
tian's liberty of conscience, which our Society has ever 
denied. 

The money, moreover, is only applicable to military 
purposes : and, therefore, paying it is violating our Chris- 
tian testimony. The long-established discipline of Friends 
prohibits such payment, declaring it to be the judgment 
of the Yearly Meeting that "if any of its members do, 
either openly or by connivance, pay any fine, penalty, or 
tax in lieu of personal service for carrying on war,' 7 "and 
are not brought to an acknowledgment of their error, 



6 

Monthly Meetings should proceed to testify against 
them." This rule was confirmed and explained, a few 
years afterwards, by another, which says : " It is the sense 
and judgment of this Meeting that it is inconsistent with 
our religious testimony and principle, for any Friends to 
pay a fine or tax levied on them, on account of their re- 
fusal to serve in the militia, although such fine or imposi- 
tion may be applied toward defraying the expenses of 
civil government," and it directs the same course to be 
pursued by Monthly Meetings, as in the former case, to- 
ward such as violate it. 

The Committee have been weightily impressed with the 
seriousness of making a solemn affirmation of conscien- 
tious scruple against bearing arms, or being concerned in 
war, as the law we have quoted calls for ; and have much 
desired that it may not be lightly done by any of our 
members ; but that such as are required to do it, in order 
to be placed on the list of non-combatants, may be en- 
couraged closely to examine themselves, and be satisfied 
that they do it from sincere conviction, and not merely 
from a desire to escape suffering, or to make their way 
easier. 

In endeavoring to discharge the duties of their ap- 
pointment while the Committee have been much aided 
and cheered by the kind consideration shown by the 
officers of the government, they have been pained to find 
that some of our members have compromised our peace 
principles, by paying the penalty imposed ; thus lowering 
our profession of religious scruple in the estimation of 
those in authority, and greatly adding to the embarrass- 
ment and difficulty of such members as could not, for 
conscience sake, comply with the demand. 

Another source of trial and discouragement to us has 
been, that some members have subscribed to funds raised 
for the payment of bounties to soldiers, and others have 
paid taxes levied and applied expressly for the same 
object ; both which are clearly violations of our Christian 
testimony and discipline, and have tended to discourage 
and weaken the hands of faithful Friends, as well as to 
lessen the weight and influence of the Society when ap- 
pealing to Government for the relief of our drafted 
members. 



If those who thus aid in hiring men to fight, were 
transported to the field of battle, and could witness the 
angry passions engendered, see the soldier, who was 
tempted to enlist and hired for his work, in part by their 
money, dealing destruction around him, wounding/maim- 
ing, and killing men who are strangers to him ; hear the 
piercing cries and groans of the poor sufferers, and per- 
haps behold the man himself, sent from the murderous 
employ to his final reckoning ; and witness the grief of 
the bereaved widows, and the destitute orphans in their 
desolate homes, surely they could not but lament that 
they had incurred the responsibility of helping forward 
the dreadful business, with its awful consequences. Dis- 
tance from the scene of action does not lessen the ac- 
countability. 

The Committee, impressed with a lively sense of the 
great value and importance of the testimony to universal 
peace, as an integral part of the gospel dispensation ; 
and convinced that we can only hope to see it spread in 
the world, by individual faithfulness and consistency ; 
affectionately desire that these views may claim the serious 
attention of Friends, and that, under the influence of 
Divine love, we may, as brethren of the same household 
of Faith, feel for, and with each other ; and endeavor, as 
well by example as precept, to strengthen, encourage, and 
help one another, in the upright support of our religions 
profession. 

The Committee think it desirable that the attention of 
Quarterly and Monthly Meetings should again be called 
to the importance of preparing and forwarding to the 
Meeting for Sufferings, lists of all their members who 
have been, or may hereafter be drafted ; also statements 
of all arrests, confinement, distraint of property, or other 
compulsory process, suffered by any in consequence of 
their testimony against war. 

Signed on behalf, and by direction of the Committee 

Thomas Evans, 
Morris Cope, 
Aaron Sharpless, 
David Roberts, 
John E. Sheppard. 
Philudelphia, Wi mo, 13th. 1865. 



REPORT 



OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE CIVILIZATION AND IMPROVE- 
MENT OF THE INDIANS. 



To The Yearly Meeting : 

The Committee for the gradual civilization and im- 
provement of the Indian natives, report : 

That the same Friends who had charge of the Farm and 
School at Tunessassa last year, continue to have the care 
of them. The Summer Session of the School was 
attended by 15 children, 11 girls and 4 boys. During 
the Winter Term, there were 25 pupils, 21 girls and 4 
boys, varying in age from 10 to 15 years. There were 
applications for the admission of 10 others, who could not 
be accommodated for want of room. Their conduct, 
both in and out of School, has been orderly ; there having 
been less difficulty in managing them than usual, and 
their progress in learning has been generally satisfactory. 
In the intervals of School, as heretofore, the large girls 
assist in the daily business of the house, and the boys are 
employed in work adapted to their strength. A portion 
of the Holy Scriptures is read to them every morning, 
and the New Testament is used daily in the School as a 
reading book. The family assemble for Divine worship 
on First and Fifth days ; and the conduct of the children 
on these occasions is generally becoming. 

A female Friend, who feels a deep interest in the im- 
provement of the Indians, and who has several times 
believed it required of her to reside at Tunessassa, has 
been, within the last year, very acceptably an inmate of 
the family there, and usefully employed in visiting the 
Indians in their houses, endeavoring to promote habits of 
cleanliness and industry, and instructing them in house- 



10 

hold duties. The improvement of many of them in these 
respects has been encouraging ; and it is hoped the atten- 
tion to the order of their houses shown by some of the 
Indian women, will have a beneficial effect upon others. 
We believe, also, that the training in household duties, 
received by the female scholars while attending the 
School at Tunessassa, may have a very useful influence 
upon their parents when they return to their homes, as it, 
no doubt, will upon themselves when they become house- 
keepers. 

By way of information, it may be stated that the Farm 
belonging to the Yearly Meeting consists of about 693 
acres. It is located in South Yalley Township, Cattarau- 
gus County, New York, and adjoins the Indian Allegheny 
Reservation. 100 acres of it are under cultivation; the 
remainder is mostly quite hilly, and covered with timber, 
a greater part of which is hemlock. The valley land is 
of pretty good quality, and yields grass abundantly ; that 
on the hills is not so good. The frame dwelling-house is 
capable of accommodating a family of about thirty persons, 
and is pleasantly located near Tunessassa Creek, which 
runs through the tract, and gives the name to the locality. 
There is also a grist and saw-mill upon the premises, 
which are an accommodation to the natives in the vicinity. 

The product of the Farm, during the past year, has 
been about an average one, and the crops of the Indians 
are represented as being generally pretty good, consider- 
ing the imperfect manner in which some of them are 
tended. A large number of hemlock logs have been cut 
and placed in the mill-race by persons employed for the 
purpose, which, it is supposed, may yield 50,000 feet of 
lumber. The stock of cows and sheep has been reduced, 
during the past year, by the seizure of two of the former, 
and twenty-nine of the latter, by the Collector of bounty 
taxes levied in Cattaraugus County. The tax upon the 
Yearly Meeting's property amounted to $180 — the cows 
and sheep were sold at public sale for about the amount 
of the demand. Within the past year there have been 
two freshets in the Allegheny River, which have caused 
much destruction to property. The one last month car- 
ried away the boat and part of the rope at the ferry 
belonging to the Committee ; also a portion of the banks 



11 

of the mill-race. It is supposed that it will require $150 
to $200 to repair the damages from both freshets. 

As many Friends may not be familiar with the past and 
present condition of the Seneca Nation of Indians, or 
the extent of the tracts occupied by them, it may be in- 
teresting to them to be informed that the Allegheny 
Reservation extends about thirty-five miles along both 
sides of the Allegheny River, in Cattaraugus County, 
New York, beginning at the Pennsylvania State line. 
It is of an average width of rather more than one-half a 
mile on each side of the river, and contains, it is said, 
forty-two square miles, which is equal to twenty-six 
thousand, six hundred and eighty acres. A considerable 
portion of the bottom land, near the river, is under culti- 
vation, and is generally of good quality. Most of the 
hill land is uncleared, and is not considered so good for 
tillage. Many of the houses occupied by the Indians are 
comfortable frame buildings, containing most of the 
ordinary articles of furniture ; others are made of logs, 
or rough boards, and are not so well furnished. Some 
of their farms are pretty well cultivated and fenced ; but 
it would be greatly to the interest of many of the occu- 
pants if more attention was given to keeping up the 
fences and clearing their land from underbrush. The 
United States Annuity, amounting to $11,605.45, in 
money, is annually divided among the Senecas by an 
officer appointed for the purpose. They have, also, 
once a year, goods furnished them to the value of about 
eighty cents each. 

By the census taken in the Fifth month last, in order to 
distribute the annuities, the number of Senecas on the 
Reservation, including the descendants of Corn Planter, 
was 847, viz : 220 men, 235 women, and 392 children. 
It was estimated there were 150 of another tribe residing 
among them, making the whole population 997. Their 
number has increased about 209 in 20 years. The total 
number of families is nearly 180. It is stated by the 
Superintendent of Public Schools that there are 35o 
children, between four and twenty-one years, who are 
considered of suitable age to go to school. 

The New York and Erie Railroad runs through more 
than one-third of the north-eastern portion of the Reser- 



12 

vation; and the Atlantic and Great Western branches 
from that road, and passes through nearly one-third more 
of it. There are six stations within its limits. The 
Seneca Nation granted to these corporations the right of 
way to a tract six rods wide for $5,114. Fifty acres of 
land, additional, have been granted to the New York and 
Erie Road, upon which they are preparing to erect 
machine shops, depots and other buildings, also numerous 
sideings. A large number of houses have been built 
near the junction of these roads, and constitute the village 
of Salamanca, which is estimated to contain five or six 
hundred white inhabitants, many of whom are employed 
in an extensive barrel factory near by. Besides this vil- 
lage, there are a large number of houses situated a short 
distance from it, and along the railroad, containing, per- 
haps, nearly as many more whites, most of whom are 
Irish laborers on the roads. There is reason to believe 
there are more whites than Indians on this Reservation ; 
they are, however, confined almost entirely to a space of 
three or four miles on the north-eastern end of it. 

The Seneca Nation of Indians own two other large 
tracts of land, occupied, respectively, by the Cattaraugus 
and Tonowanda tribes; — that of the former contains 
21,680 acres, and that of the latter, 12,800 acres. A 
tract in Warren County, Pennsylvania, on the Allegheny 
River, about four miles south of the State line, contain- 
ing about 640 acres, is occupied by the descendants of 
the celebrated Chief, Corn Planter, to whom it was given 
by the State of Pennsylvania, for services rendered by 
him in the Revolutionary War. His descendants, being 
Senecas, have also a right in the lands belonging to the 
Nation. The Nation also own a tract of 640 acres at 
Oil Spring, New York, upon which no Indians reside. 

The Cattaraugus Reservation lies along the Cattarau- 
gus Creek, and includes parts of Erie, Cattaraugus and 
Chautauque Counties. It has a population of about 
1,550 Indians; 647 of whom are children. 517 of these 
are stated, by the Superintendent of Public Schools, of 
suitable age to go to School. The land of this Reserva- 
tion is represented to be some of the best in the State. 
A large part of it is cleared and fenced, and some of the 
farms are very well cultivated. Many of the dwelling- 



13 

houses are good, commodious buildings, comfortably 
furnished ; and the grounds around some of them are 
neatly laid out. The whole appearance of the thickly- 
settled portion indicates a thriving, industrious commu- 
nity. 

• On both Reservations there are places of worship 
comfortably furnished ; those at Cattaraugus are quite 
expensive structures, capable of seating some hundreds of 
persons. They are occupied by Presbyterian, Methodist, 
and Baptist congregations. A Council-house has recently 
been erected at Cattaraugus by Indian mechanics, at a 
cost to the Nation of $2,500. There is also an Orphan 
Asylum, with accommodations for fifty or sixty pupils. 
It was established as a home for the protection, care, and 
education of orphans and destitute children from any of 
the Indian tribes located in New York. It is conducted 
in an economical, yet efficient, manner ; the children 
being required to assist in the work of both farm and 
family. It is managed by Trustees, six of whom are 
Indians and six are whites. The cost of the establish- 
ment was mostly defrayed by appropriations of the 
Legislature of New York, although assistance was 
derived from private sources. An appropriation is made 
annually for its support by the State Legislature, also by 
the Indian Department of the United States; the remain- 
der of the annual expenses are principally defrayed by 
individual contributions. An Agricultural Society is 
sustained at Cattaraugus, composed of members from 
various tribes. Its annual fairs are represented as being 
well attended ; and its exhibitions of cattle, produce, &c, 
very creditable. 

The Indians residing on this and the Allegheny Reser- 
vation, with the descendants of Corn Planter, formed, in 
1848, a constitutional government, and abandoned that of 
the chiefs. Recently, from various causes, unexplained, 
there has been some unsettlement among them respecting 
their political affairs, which, it is hoped, may soon pass 
away. 

Many of the Indians still adhere to the religon, and 
some of the habits, of their forefathers, although a large 
and increasing number profess Christianity, and appear 
more or less influenced by the change in their views. 



14 

The Legislature of New York has acted in a very 
liberal spirit towards the Indians within the limits of 
the State, by the passage of laws designed to prevent 
depredations upon them ; also by appropriating funds for 
building school-houses, and the support of schools ; the 
encouragement of agriculture ; and the maintenance of 
orphan and destitute children, without requiring the pay- ' 
inent of taxes of any kind. 

Notwithstanding the many discouragements which have 
attended the concern to benefit these poor people, it is 
satisfactory and encouraging to know, that many of the 
most capable and enterprising men on both Reservations, 
received their education in the schools taught by Friends, 
and ascribe their success in life to the principles and 
habits thus imbibed in their youth. A visit was paid by 
three of our number, in the fifth month last, to both of the 
Reservations, also the descendants of Corn Planter, and 
from their interesting report much herein communicated 
is taken. The principal men were found to retain a very 
grateful sense of the kindness and important help which 
they had received from Friends. Their expressions, both 
in public and in private, of the obligations they felt on 
these accounts, were quite affecting. 

As illustrating the changes which have taken place in 
public sentiment since Friends commenced their efforts 
in behalf of the New York Indians, it should be remem- 
bered, that there were then no schools among them, and 
the feelings of the community was so much opposed to 
their establishment, that the Friend who was engaged 
in teaching one on the Allegheny Reservation, in the 
year 1820, had his school-house taken possession of 
during his temporary absence from the settle-ment, and 
was threatened with violence, if he persevered in his 
endeavors to instruct the children. Now, there are upon 
that Reservation six school districts, in all of which are 
good school-houses. The whole number of scholars 
registered in the teachers' books for the Summer term, 
last year, was 113 ; and the average attendance 98. So 
that with those taught at Friends' schools, about 198 re- 
ceived more or less instruction during that period. The 
Cattaraugus Reservation is divided into 9 school districts, 
in t of which there are good school-houses ; in the others, 



15 

the houses are not comfortable, except for the Summer 
term. The whole number of scholars registered was 
348, and the average attendance was 213. The schools 
are taught about thirty-six weeks in the year, and some 
of them are attended by a few white children. On Corn 
Planter's tract, there is a very good school-house, in 
which a school was taught, until recently, by a young 
Indian woman. It is now temporarily suspended. The 
brother of this young woman, a very intelligent man, also 
conducts a school on the Allegheny Reservation, and is 
considered a good teacher. In a letter to one of our 
number, the Superintendent of Indian Schools says: "The 
best teachers are sought after for these schools, though 
the limited amount of funds placed in the hands of the 
Superintendent for their support, is not sufficient to pay 
such salaries as their talents for teaching would command 
elsewhere. Some of them have been offered desirable 
positions as teachers, with large salaries ; but an ardent 
attachment to their pupils, and a desire to do them 
and the people good, induces them to forego their own 
pecuniary advantages and personal comfort, and continue 
their labor and self-denial, to educate the remnant of a 
race that is fast passing away." In his last Annual Re- 
port, the Superintendent again says : " It is a source of 
trratification and encouragement to observe a taste for 
reading cultivated by those who are and have been pupils 
in these Indian schools. They take regularly newspapers 
and magazines, purchase and borrow many books, seek 
earnestly for information, and take a decided interest in 
the current news of the day, and the affairs of the nation 

generally." . 

Of latter years, the Committee have confined their at- 
tention principally to those Indians residing on the Alle- 
gheny Reservation. The location of this tract is not so 
favorable for the improvement of its population as that of 
Cattaraugus; although at one time the Allegheny Indians 
were far in advance of the latter. Many of those who 
are now the most prosperous on the Cattaraugus Reserva- 
tion have migrated from the Allegheny, being no doubt 
attracted by the better quality of the land for farming 
purposes. The Allegheny River, which passes through 
that tract thirty-five miles, is much used at certain seasons, 



16 

for rafting. The quick gains and excitement derived 
from this employment, offer attractions to many which 
they do not find in the steady labors of the farm. This 
may account for much of the improvidence which exists 
among them, and the indisposition on the part of many 
to cultivate the soil. There are other causes which retard 
their progress, mainly connected with the advance of 
public improvements through their land, which further 
tend to divert them from a steady attention to their farms. 
These unfavorable influences have, particularly of latter 
time produced much discouragement among the old men, 
who seem to be aware that their young people are not 
improving as they would desire. The prosperity of many 
of their brethren on the Cattaraugus Reservation proves 
that habits of industry and sobriety are what they especially 
need, in the improvement of their condition. Could they, 
therefore, be induced to improve and cultivate their land, 
avoid the use of ardent spirits, and more generally interest 
themselves in the moral and religious education of their 
children, they might remove many of the causes which 
now retard their advancement, and, with the Divine 
blessing, become a more prosperous people. 

The personal efforts of a judicious, energetic Friend, who 
would devote most of his time to instructing them on their 
own premises, how to till their land to the best advantage, 
and by suitable advice, encourage them in their efforts to 
improve, would, we believe, be a very important help to 
many of them. Should such a Friend feel his mind 
drawn to a service of this kind, the Committee would be 
glad to make way for him therein. 

From an examination of the Treasurer's account, it 
appears his receipts, including the balance on hand at the 
previous settlement, for the past year have been $2,531.97, 
and his payments, including $500 temporarily invested, 
$1,936.92, leaving a balance in his hands of $601.05 and 
securities amounting to $16,200. 

Signed by direction of the Committee. 

Thomas Wistar, Clerk. 

Philadelphia, tth mo., 13th., 1865. 




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